Media Centre

Press Release 9 August 2010

CCA welcomes Labor commitment to NFP Sector

"We welcome the commitment of Labor to establish an Office for the Not-for-Profit Sector," CCA Chair and World Vision CEO, Reverend Tim Costello, said.

"This was a key recommendation of the Productivity Commission and will play an important role in having consistency across the nation and across government. This is the first time that the sector has had a single reference point within Government."

CCA also welcomed the proposal to harmonise the tangle of complex state and federal regulations.

"Not-for-profits spend too much filling in forms to a host of government regulators", said Dr Stephen Judd, CCA Director and CEO of HammondCare. "The commitment to slash red-tape and move towards a national ‘one stop shop’ regulator for the sector is going to make a huge difference not just for the NFPs but for the Australians who interact with them," Dr. Judd said.

"The commitment to locate the Office for the Not-for-Profit Sector within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is an acknowledgement that the Not-for-Profit Sector is a key contributor to a prosperous economy and cohesive community in Australia," CCA Deputy Chair and CEO of The Smith Family, Elaine Henry said. "It recognises that the lifeblood of a $43 billion sector depends not only on reducing red tape but also on embedding collaborative social innovation to inform policy and solve our seemingly intractable problems. We look forward to working with the Government to deliver on these historic reforms."

"This is a significant announcement for the Not-for-Profit sector and the Community Council for Australia also calls on the Coalition to commit to the sector reforms recommended by the Productivity Commission", said Toby Hall, CCA Director and CEO of Mission Australia .

http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/strengthening-the-non-profit-sector/

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